Displays or signs, such as billboards, have been used for many years to convey information such as advertising, traffic messages, and the like. Furthermore, electronic displays, which may be seen along city streets and buildings, may utilize various electronic devices to display a wide variety of data in the form of words, images, or video without having to physically change the characteristics of the display. This data may include advertisements of goods and services, news, or any other form of visual data. This data may generally be referred to as visual content.
Electronic display devices are currently being applied to large-scale display applications, such as outdoor or indoor stadium displays, large marketing advertisement displays, and mass-public informational displays. Moreover, some large-scale display applications may utilize a large surface of a building, such as a modern high-rise office building. Such display devices, also known as curtain displays, may be viewed by an audience at a distance of more than 50 meters and require a large and complex support structure to hold the electronic display.
As known by one having ordinary skill in the art, large-scale electronic displays positioned on an outer surface of a building may include a plurality of display panels wherein each display panel may include a number of high-intensity light emitting diodes (LEDs) arranged in a grid, or matrix, at geometrically predetermined positions adjacent one another. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a building 10 having a display 12 including a plurality of display panels 14. These types of display panels, including the structure for supporting the display panels, are substantially large and are made of materials that are heavy and, as such, are difficult to handle and transport. In addition to the physical problems associated with transportation, assembly, and disassembly, the time needed for replacement of such displays becomes yet another problematic factor. Furthermore, the heavy structure presently required for large scale displays may require that the existing support structures be reinforced, which increases the time and cost of installation. In addition, due to design limitations of conventional display panel structures, accessing panel component parts, such as the electrical components, has proven to be challenging. Moreover, because conventional panel displays emit a complete image across a contiguous area, a displayed image may appear distorted if panels are separated.
There is a need to enhance a display panel for use within a large-scale display. Specifically, there is a need for a display panel that provides for simplified access to component parts, replacement of components parts, replacement of the entire display panel, or any combination thereof. Moreover, a need exists for a method of displaying an image across a plurality of non-contiguous display panels to provide an undistorted image.